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For the second time in as many weeks, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award was given to a Washington State football player. Safety Ayden Hector earned the award in week two following the Cougars 43-29 loss to Oregon while quarterback Jayden de Laura was named the recipient after week one.
Hector was responsible for all three of the turnovers against Oregon this past weekend and proved why he was ranked a four-star coming out of high school. With just over two minutes remaining in the first quarter he recovered a fumble by Oregon running back Travis Dye that would lead to the Cougars second touchdown of the game which gave them a 13-7 lead. A few minutes later Hector found himself on the receiving end of a Tyler Shough pass for his second turnover of the game.
He wouldn’t stop there with just the two turnovers and on the Ducks very next drive he would jump on a CJ Verdell fumble. This turnover also led to Cougar points as Blake Mazza would kick a field goal to give the Cougars a 16-7 lead in the first half.
Hector would finish the game with four tackles. He has 11 tackles on the year, 7 of which are solo. He is the current Pac-12 leader in fumble recoveries with two and is the Washington State leader in interceptions with the one.
Washington State and Hector will look to get the defense back to what they were able to accomplish in the first half of the Oregon game this Saturday when they head to the farm to take on Stanford at 8:00 pm.
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Ayden Hector gives Washington State consecutive Pac-12 Freshman of the Week awards
Washington State quarterback Jayden de Laura accepted the Pac-12’s Freshman of the Week award after the first week of the season and safety Ayden Hector made sure it stayed in Pullman a week later.
Report: Washington State pass rusher Will Rodgers III enters NCAA transfer portal
For the third time in two months, someone who was counted on to play an integral role for the Washington State defense has optioned to enter the NCAA’s transfer portal.
Pac-12 Football Players of the Week - Week Two
FRESHMAN: Ayden Hector, Fr., DB, Washington State (Seattle, Wash.)
Our Dec. 4 game at USC will kick off at 6:30 pm on @FS1 #GoCougs | #LetsRoll pic.twitter.com/RfLOG3m4vp
— Washington State Football (@WSUCougarFB) November 17, 2020
Basketball:
Pac-12 Announces 22-Game Conference Slate for Women’s Basketball
The Washington State women’s basketball team will play a school-record 22 Pac-12 Conference games this season, as the Conference announced on Monday (Nov. 16) the weekly matchups for 2020-21 Pac-12 women’s basketball schedule.